Hiruzen persuaded me to die

Hyuga Naraku felt that Akatsuki's situation was a bit pathetic.

The spy network they relied on—Yakushi Kabuto—couldn't truly be considered part of Akatsuki in any real sense.

If Pain wanted to obtain any intel through Yakushi Kabuto, it would only be the information Kabuto or Orochimaru wanted Akatsuki to know.

In the original timeline, Pain had sent Sasori and Deidara to track down Orochimaru.

And the so-called intel source Sasori had? It was exactly what Orochimaru had allowed—he had deliberately planted Yakushi Kabuto back into Sasori's hands.

As expected, Kabuto reported Sasori's orders back to Orochimaru the moment he received them.

Orochimaru probably laughed at the entire situation.

"The spy you think you planted is actually my loyal pawn. What game are you even playing?"

It just so happened that Orochimaru, instead of running, used Sasori as a test subject for his upgraded Impure World Reincarnation technique.

And Sasori—even in death—believed Yakushi Kabuto was under his control.

"Uchiha Obito…"

Hearing this name, Hiruko muttered under his breath.

By the time he was forced to defect from Konoha, the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had already ended.

In fact—

It was because Kakashi received the Sharingan from Obito that Hiruko became obsessed with the idea of stealing bloodline limits.

Originally, he even considered using Kakashi as one of the sacrifices in his Chimera Technique.

On one hand, the Sharingan was a valuable bloodline limit.

On the other hand, Kakashi had been the very inspiration for his twisted research—how poetic would it be to sacrifice him in pursuit of immortality?

But now?

Kakashi was no longer a viable option.

No one in Akatsuki was willing to help him infiltrate Konoha just to capture someone.

Even though he had once used a puppet jutsu to control Kakashi's body—

Still!

If someone like the Fifth Hokage got involved...

Forget about the Chimera Technique or achieving immortality.

He'd be lucky if Pain even agreed to help recover his corpse.

"If it's Uchiha Obito, though… that would be a suitable sacrifice,"Hiruko muttered, eyes gleaming with greed.

It wasn't just about the Sharingan.

The Uchiha clan's natural affinity for Fire Release made them ideal candidates for stabilizing the Chimera Technique's ritual.

On the other side…

Obito—currently disguised as Tobi—happened to arrive just as Hiruko's greedy musings ended.

Obito: "…"

Seriously? You've gotta be kidding me.

"If you're thinking of making a move on me, feel free to try."

Behind the swirling mask, his Sharingan began to spin ominously.

In that instant—

Hiruko felt a suffocating pressure descend on him.

As if some terrifying presence had locked onto him.

If he dared to make even a single move, he'd be torn to shreds on the spot!

Hiruko quickly reined in his desires and swallowed his thoughts.

He was only at the level of a regular jōnin.

The Uchiha Obito from back then might've been a mere chūnin—but now, he was no longer someone Hiruko could even think of provoking.

At the very least—

Hiruko knew he couldn't pull off something like surviving the Nine Tails attack on Konoha and escaping alive afterward.

But the rest of the Akatsuki weren't nearly as restrained.

"Well, well—if it isn't our so-called Madara-sama?"

Hoshigaki Kisame sneered with open mockery, his tone oozing sarcasm.

How dare this guy pretend to be Uchiha Madara?

No wonder he got one-shot.

If Kisame hadn't been fooled by that space-time ninjutsu of his, he never would've believed this guy was the real Madara.

"Good thing the real Uchiha Madara is already dead.If he saw how badly this clown dragged his name through the mud, he'd probably resurrect himself out of sheer anger,"Zabuza Momochi added with a cold laugh.

Kakuzu, eyes flashing green with that eerie stitched glow, growled:

"A brat who never even saw Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara in the flesh…dares to wear a mask and claim that name? Pathetic!"

Sasori of the Red Sand swung the massive tail of his crimson puppet, his eyes gleaming as if staring at prey:

"To still wear a mask after your identity has been exposed…You're nothing but a rat, hiding head and tail."

"He might make a decent addition to my collection, though."

------------------------------

To be continued...